Microsoft names Nadella new CEO, Gates steps down as board chairman

Former enterprise and cloud VP steps up to replace Ballmer; Gates returns to help.

This morning, Microsoft announced that Satya Nadella, until now Microsoft’s vice president in charge of the company’s enterprise and cloud products, has been named the company’s new chief executive officer. The company also named a new chairman of the board, as Bill Gates will return to help Nadella plot the course for the company and take a greater role in the company’s operations.

The announcement ends months of speculation about who would replace outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer. But it also signals a less radical shift at the software giant, as Gates will return to provide a great deal more guidance over the company’s technology development.

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

New board chairman Thompson was the former CEO of Symantec and most recently a lead independent director for Microsoft.

In addition to the Nadella announcement, Microsoft released this video interview of the new CEO on his first day in charge at Redmond.

As you might expect, it's not an interview full of tough questions or concrete details. But Nadella describes himself as a curious man, someone who buys more books than he can read or registers for more online courses than he could finish. He said he felt "honored, humbled, and excited" at the opportunity, and he believes Microsoft is ready to succeed in this "mobile and cloud-driven world" due to its heritage as a productivity company and its current iteration as a "do-more company." That potential is ultimately why he accepted the position.

"In a software powered role, what's a better place than Microsoft to take all this human potential we have and apply it to a world that's rapidly becoming software-driven," Nadella said. "That opportunity is what fundamentally drives me and got me to raise my hand for this job."

I'm happy with the announcement. Satya focusing on services as is his background, and Gates coming in to provide support on what I assume is devices to balance things out should be a solid combination.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what interesting cloud services MS offers over the next couple years.

I don't know if picking an insider is the right move. MS needs a cultural overhaul if they're going to do anything except ride on their past inertia and continue making bad decisions, and I don't know if somebody from inside Microsoft can provide that.

I'm happy with the announcement. Satya focusing on services as is his background, and Gates coming in to provide support on what I assume is devices to balance things out should be a solid combination.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what interesting cloud services MS offers over the next couple years.

I don't know if picking an insider is the right move. MS needs a cultural overhaul if they're going to do anything except ride on their past inertia and continue making bad decisions, and I don't know if somebody from inside Microsoft can provide that.

Just because MS has made some bad moves lately doesn't mean every executive in the company agreed with every move they made. That is a massive generalization. At the end of the day, the CEO gets the vote.

I honestly love insider promotions like this. It maintains loyalty. Why should your executives stay if they know that the top spot will be filled by some outsider in a few years?

I do like the fact that Microsoft 'hired from within' when picking a new leader for the company. I'm normally wary of that in situations where a corporation needs a turnaround, especially when that corporation has become known for being slow to market. Making changes can be like turning a battleship. That being said, his reputation and performance within his units in Microsoft give me some hope that this will lead to increased competitiveness on its part.

Edit: I should clarify that my comments were directed specifically at Microsoft's consumer divisions, not its enterprise solutions.

I'm reading more negative things about his appointment over time. When it was first said that he might be appointed, there nothing other than good articles put out. But over the past few days, they've turned negative.

The question is whether he's the right guy, or just a Hail Mary pass as they couldn't get any of their major outside choices to show interest.

I suppose the question is where is Microsoft going? If they want to concentrate on the enterprise, and possibly eliminate their consumer side, then he's the guy. But if they don't, then maybe he's not the guy.

So ...... clear and present shift from consumer focused products to enterprise backends?

*crosses fingers*

Honestly, I am a little surprised; I really was expecting MS to make a play at merging with Steam by bating Gabe with the CEO chair.

Satya Email wrote:

Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.

So no. I don't see that as a sign of them backing of consumer focused products.

This dude was in charge of developing their cloud server system and a lot of their other business related software; the fact that they promoted HIM, instead of someone from outside the company or from one the entertainment / Windows divisions, says something.

If they actually wanted to go for phones, they would have promoted someone from the phone divisions or brought in someone from the outside who had phone experience.If they actually wanted to go for consumer products (Xbox / Windows) they would have promoted someone from one of those divisions.

... they promoted a hardware / tech guy who has virtually no RP / Marketing background and no experience with "Consumer Focused" bull shit like that rancid Windows 8 UI or the Xbox's clusterfuck of a dash board.

I suppose the question is where is Microsoft going? If they want to concentrate on the enterprise, and possibly eliminate their consumer side, then he's the guy. But if they don't, then maybe he's not the guy.

There's a lot of things that have been held back simply due to decision made by the consumer side. If he just gets rid of those obstacles I'm sure it'll be a net benefit to both enterprise and consumer.

I'm happy with the announcement. Satya focusing on services as is his background, and Gates coming in to provide support on what I assume is devices to balance things out should be a solid combination.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what interesting cloud services MS offers over the next couple years.

Why would you like her, and why would people dislike her? It's a real question, I have no idea.

She is responsible for most of the larger UI design decisions at Microsoft, notably the Ribbon interface and more recently the Metro / Modern UI.

Sorry, but the ribbon interface is fucking fantastic. It may have been rough around the edges when first introduced but it is legitimately excellent right now. Especially in the File Explorer in Windows 8. On top of everything, she's the "fixer" in Microsoft. Every department she gets sent to, gets straightened out and back on track to where it should be. Sorry, but you're just plain wrong here. She's one of the best human assets that MS has right now.

Edit: To add, who do you think was the one responsible for spear-heading all of these new changes in Windows 8.1 and beyond - to try and appease the traditional desktop users which Sinofsky just wanted to write off? It was Larson-Green, that's who. And when the Xbox division began faltering under shitty PR, who was sent to fix them up? Yup, her again. Thinking she deserves anything in the way of a reprimand is downright ignorant.

I suppose the question is where is Microsoft going? If they want to concentrate on the enterprise, and possibly eliminate their consumer side, then he's the guy. But if they don't, then maybe he's not the guy.

There's a lot of things that have been held back simply due to decision made by the consumer side. If he just gets rid of those obstacles I'm sure it'll be a net benefit to both enterprise and consumer.

I'm looking at you Windows Store!

Right, but Microsoft is too large for him to focus on everything - that's really all that happened with Ballmer, who made bad moves, but NEVER IN ENTERPRISE.

Satya will be very similar, I think. I don't think he'll 'make a move' for quite a while, so we can pretty much project out the current trends.

I still don't get why they brought Elop over and now they have Gates involved in products. I get that Gates is bored and probably increasingly alarmed at "his baby's" direction, but what is he really doing? Was this just to prove to Ballmer he can do better in mobile? Isn't that what Elop is for, or is Elop a "Ballmer guy" who has to be straightened out? This is such an odd move, I can't wait to see what's really up.

On the surface, it's odd that they acquire Nokia but hire a guy who will not invest in it. It's odd that they're still licensing WP in the future when that's the 'secret sauce' of their Lumia phones. I hope the new guy straightens all this stuff out, including all the platforms flying around. It's gotten a bit messy in there.

Why would you like her, and why would people dislike her? It's a real question, I have no idea.

She is responsible for most of the larger UI design decisions at Microsoft, notably the Ribbon interface and more recently the Metro / Modern UI.

Sorry, but the ribbon interface is fucking fantastic. It may have been rough around the edges when first introduced but it is legitimately excellent right now. Especially in the File Explorer in Windows 8. On top of everything, she's the "fixer" in Microsoft. Every department she gets sent to, gets straightened out and back on track to where it should be. Sorry, but you're just plain wrong here. She's one of the best human assets that MS has right now.

It might be good for users who are better suited for iPad and it's ilk. As soon as you start being a bit more advanced user you find yourself tabbing around the ribbon all day long. Not to mention that ribbon combined with new found love of ever shorter (but wider) screens is a combination that only people not actually using their software can enjoy.

As to this I guess it just means that MS will push even harder for cloud integration meaning that anyone with some wish to keep privacy will have to switch.

Why would you like her, and why would people dislike her? It's a real question, I have no idea.

She is responsible for most of the larger UI design decisions at Microsoft, notably the Ribbon interface and more recently the Metro / Modern UI.

Sorry, but the ribbon interface is fucking fantastic. It may have been rough around the edges when first introduced but it is legitimately excellent right now. Especially in the File Explorer in Windows 8. On top of everything, she's the "fixer" in Microsoft. Every department she gets sent to, gets straightened out and back on track to where it should be. Sorry, but you're just plain wrong here. She's one of the best human assets that MS has right now.

These are just the dumbest arguments. The ribbon is the same as the icon bars, except POWER USERS CAN'T EDIT THEM. What's the advantage, again, please tell me?

Im' sure there's a lot more to Julie than what the public sees, and they totally shouldn't bluster about like we have any clue what people are really like because of a few anti-user choices that did help the company that pays her, after all.